Mickey Mouse ( ミッキーマウス ) is the main protagonist in Epic Mickey. He is the younger half-brother of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who is at first jealous of his fame. He's also the main mascot in the Disney universe, and one of the most important cartoon stars.

Contents

Powers and Abilities

Mickey has an enchanted paintbrush that serves as his main and only weapon. He also has Paint and Thinner abilities. In fact, the whole game revolves around the idea of Paint and Thinner, because the whole essence of the cartoon world is that everything is made out of Paint. If an enemy gets too close to Mickey, he may also attempt to sweep the enemy away with his brush. The animation pays tribute to the rubber-like quality that all Disney animated shorts had in their early days. Mickey can also perform the video game standard double jump. Mickey might also be able to push certain enemies into large, erased parts of platforms.

Epic Mickey

Mickey discovering Yen Sid's creation

Long ago, the young, mischievous Mickey Mouse was sleeping in bed (Alice Through the Looking Glass having been read to him as a bedtime story), when Yen Sid's mirror awoke him. Mickey went through the mirror to Yen Sid's workshop and witnessed him putting the "finishing touches" on a model of the Cartoon Wasteland, a world for Disney's forgotten creations, whose king was none other than Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Once discovering the new land, or even realizing it was a world, Mickey attempts to create a model of himself with the brush Yen Sid left behind. Not knowing that the brush was magic, he continued adding Paint, thus creating the vile Blot. As Mickey saw the Blot, he splashed it with Thinner, and scrubbed it away. In doing so he spilled paint and thinner on to the model. The remnants of the Blot seeped in through the hole, and began to wreak havoc on the Wasteland. Before Yen Sid could return, Mickey attempted to cover up his mistake and fled, not knowing that he had caused great devastation in the Wasteland. The Blot was furious and confused, and began to rampage through the Wasteland. Oswald was left to fight.

As Oswald and the Shadow Blot engaged in the Blot Wars for the fate of the Wasteland, Mickey Mouse went on to become a cartoon star, ignorant to what he had done.

Trapped in Wasteland

Mickey escapes the clutches of the Mad Doctor

Years later, after completely forgetting his previous mistake, Mickey was pulled through his mirror and into the now-demented Cartoon Wasteland, into Dark Beauty Castle, by the Fake Shadow Blot. There, he was strapped to a table by The Mad Doctor, in order to extract Mickey's heart, apparently. After running through a list of torturous devices on his machine, the Mad Doctor tried to use a plunger in order to extract it. However, Mickey easily breaks free of the table and faces the Fake Shadow Blot. However, upon picking up the magic paintbrush, the Shadow Blot and the Mad Doctor fled from Mickey. Mickey then encounters Oswald, who proceeds to mess with the Doctor's machine, causing it to go haywire and try to kill Mickey. But then, Gremlin Gus appears and helps Mickey shut down the machine. The two of them then escape Dark Beauty Castle, as Mickey learns the power of Paint and Thinner.

Journey to Mean Street

Mickey and Gus travel to the Jungle Boat ride, where they encounter Small Pete. Small Pete says that ever since he crashed his boat into the Gremlin Village, the Gremlins banished him from the village, and asks Mickey to retrieve his ship's log to prove that it was just an accident. After traveling through the Gremlin Village, depending on whether Mickey helps Small Pete or not, Small Pete will unlock a room full of treasure for him or ambush him with Blotlings. Mickey then runs into the Clock Tower, which has completely gone haywire. After defeating or redeeming the Clock Tower, Mickey and Gus head for Mean Street.

Mean Street, U.S.A.

Upon entering Mean Street, Mickey can't help but notice that Wasteland resembles an amusement park. Gus explains that Wasteland is supposed to be a place for Disney's forgotten, scrapped and plain out thrown-away characters to live in. Ever since the Thinner Disaster, the Shadow Blot and the Blotlings rampaged throughout Wasteland, changing it into what it is now. They meet up with Gremlin Markus, who explains that the machine at the Penny Arcade operating the projection screens for other locations are out of order, and Mickey needs to pick up two gears and a Power Spark in order to get the OsTown screen working again. While Mickey was doing that, he met long-time nemesis Pete, and one of his lesser-known friends Horace Horsecollar. After retrieving the necessary parts, Markus repairs the machine, allowing Mickey to enter OsTown.

The Search For Oswald

Mickey enters OsTown, where he was greeted by another one of his lesser-known friends, Clarabelle Cow. Clarabelle has a modern incarnation of course, but this is the black-and-white version, as with Horace Horsecollar. Mickey is then given a choice to help Pirate Moody restore his house with Paint, or thin the beam holding a noisy safe, crushing Moody. Either way, Mickey then releases Gremlin Prescott, who was trapped within the safe. Prescott says that he was trapped in the safe by the telephone living in Mickey's house, and he took his wrench while he was at it. Prescott then asks Mickey to get it back. Mickey's choice is to either help the telephone paint in the electric boxes to extend his range, or to let Prescott have his wrench back immediately. Afterwards, Prescott then repairs the bridge to Mickeyjunk Mountain.

Mickey enters Mickeyjunk Mountain, a desolate junkyard filled with gargantuan versions of old Mickey Mouse memorabilia, where he scales the mountain in hopes of finding Wasteland's leader, Oswald. Upon entering Oswald's HQ, Gus explained that Oswald used to be a big star before Mickey came in and completely overshadowed him. Mickey and Gus then get to the Throne Room.

Before meeting Oswald, Mickey needs to face the three Oswald Cartoons, called the Three Trials, each one testing your 2D platforming skills. When "Trolley Troubles", "Great Guns", and "Oh, What a Knight" have been conquered, Oswald's card guards will let you see him. The Ace of Spades tells you "Oswald did it in half the time, but you still made it."

After the trials, Mickey finally meets up with Oswald. Mickey sees Oswald cleaning up a doll of his girlfriend, Ortensia, but when he sees him drop the jug full of soap, Mickey suddenly remembers his mistake and realizes he was the one who caused the Thinner Disaster. Oswald explained that hearts represent the fans' love for the character. Suddenly, Oswald gets a brilliant idea. He enlists the help of Mickey and Gus to get to the Tomorrow City Rocket. Using the rocket, they can get Mickey out of Wasteland.

The City Of Tomorrow

After giving Markus the required number of Power Sparks, Markus opens the portal to Tomorrow City. Mickey and Gus go there, with Oswald way ahead of them. Upon reaching the rocket, Oswald is distraught to find out that the Mad Doctor has removed three important parts for the Rocket. He then assigns Mickey to go out and recover the parts from Petetronic, Captain Hook and the Mad Doctor. After redeeming or defeating Petetronic, Mickey receives Pete's disk from him.

A Pirate's Life For Me

After giving Markus the required number of Power Sparks, he gives Mickey access to Ventureland. Mickey and Gus enter Ventureland and encounter Mr. Smee crying. Mr. Smee explains that he used to be Captain Hook's right-hand man until Hook chased them from Tortooga. He and the pirate crew fled Skull Island because Hook's machines was turning his crew into beastly Beetleworx. After retrieving the Ship's Wheel from Tiki Sam, the figurehead from Damien Salt and the compass from Scurvy Pat, Mickey gives them to Smee so he could fix the door-opening contraption. Mickey and Gus head straight for Tortooga. Upon entering Tortooga, Gus and Mickey see Sherman running towards the projector screen, fleeing to Ventureland. Mickey asks him where Hook was. Sherman tells him he is aboard the Jolly Roger, sailing about Skull Island. Mickey then asks Sherman if he knew how he and Gus could get there. Sherman suggested that if he were to confront Hook, then he should see Gentleman Starky. After Sherman leaves, they meet Beluga Billy. Billy assigns Mickey to get his bag from the far side of the harbor for him because the thinner tides are keeping him from getting it himself. Upon retrieving the bag, Beluga Billy furiously finds out that his bag was filled with rocks and the contents in it were stolen and hidden.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

A Family Reunion

Mickey was sleeping one night, until he heard a noise from his television set. He finds out that it was a transmission from Gremlin Gus, telling him to go to Yen Sid's lab and retrieve the brush. Mickey enters his TV to Yen Sid's lab and grabs the brush, using it to repaint the portal to Wasteland.

Entering Wasteland, Mickey was then informed by Gus and Ortensia that the Mad Doctor is back, and earthquakes have been terrorizing Wasteland. Oswald comes by to check on Ortensia and Gus, giving Mickey the news that the Mad Doctor has reformed along the way. Another quake hit, causing Dark Beauty Castle to become unstable. Mickey, Oswald, Gus, and Ortensia then evacuate the castle, but not before retrieving Oswald's remote control.

Upon revisiting Mean Street, Mickey is devastated to see that Wasteland is in worse condition than before. Gus then states that they should travel to Rainbow Falls to repair the Projector Substation. Along the way, Mickey, Oswald, and Gus meet up with Gremlin Jamface, who secretly tells the trio that the station was damaged before the first quake even hit. Going to OsTown, the trio then meet up with Gremlin Prescott, who now works at the Gag Factory, and Animatronic Goofy, who, depending on which one you help out, will open the way to Rainbow Falls.

Upon entering Rainbow Falls, Mickey and Oswald make their way through the caverns to find the Projection Substation, where they see Small Pete already doing repairs on the station. After helping him out with the repairs, Oswald then gets a transmission from the Mad Doctor to come to his lab at Disney Gulch with big news. Noticing an abrupt end to his transmission, Mickey and Oswald head on over to the Mad Doctor's Lab, with the feeling that he might be in trouble.

Upon entering the lab, Mickey and Oswald are then attacked by the Blotworx Dragon, which starts a battle with the duo. Upon redeeming or defeating the Blotworx Dragon, Mickey, Oswald, and Gus notice the Mad Doctor in deep pain. The Mad Doctor's animatronic parts were starting to fail, and he sings a song about how he wants to go back to being a Toon. Upon returning to Mean Street, the Mad Doctor announces to the citizens of Wasteland that he has a plan to stop the quakes. Meanwhile, Small Pete came up to Mickey and Oswald with a gag from the Gag Factory, explaining that the Projector Substation breaking down was no accident, and someone purposely sabotaged it.

A Small Mystery

While Oswald was racking his brain on figuring out who could've sabotaged the projectors, Mickey guessed that maybe Prescott was behind the sabotaging. Gus then explained that it couldn't have been him because he loves working on the projectors. However, Gus tried talking to Prescott about the gags in the Substation, but was informed by Jamface that he left with some big projects to work on at Blot Alley in Bog Easy. Wanting some answers, Mickey and Oswald then head to Bog Easy.

Upon reaching Bog Easy, the trio were shocked to see that the Beetleworx have been hacked and were causing havoc. After reprogramming or disabling the generators, Mickey and Oswald make their way to Blot Alley, where they meet up with Ian, the self-appointed caretaker of the Spatters that live in the alley. He guides the two through the alley to Club 13, where Prescott was allegedly headed to.

When Petetronic answers the door, Mickey questions him about Prescott's whereabouts. He is informed that whilst Prescott had never stepped foot in Club 13, he did see him repeatedly at the Train Tunnel Entrance. When he questioned him about his antics, Prescott mentioned some 'egghead' projects at the Floatyard. He then requests some Scrap Metal to fix the generator. He takes all of the Scrap Metal Mickey has on him, though when Mickey befriends the Blotworx that appear, he hands most of it back.

Mickey, Gus and Oswald then head forward to the train dioramas, where they meet up with Automatic Branch Engineer, known for short as Abe. Depending on whether you fix the dioramas or break them, Abe will either tell you where Prescott is headed, or be completely broken. Either way, the team will continue onward to the Floatyard via the Projector.

When they finally arrive at the Floatyard, Prescott almost immediately flies away, but not before explaining his feelings to the team, particularly Gus. When they reach him again, he dares them to follow him at their own risk.

Eventually, they make it to Prescott's Mech. After Prescott explains his anger towards the group, he sends his Mech into battle. After defeating the Mech, Mickey initially approaches Prescott with a look of anger, though after the Mad Doctor interferes and as Prescott is carted away by Big Bad Pete, he becomes suspicious of everything.

Back in Mean Street, Mickey notices Oswalds upset as everyone crowds around the Mad Doctor, and suggests that they check up on Prescott. Whilst Prescott is too heavily influenced by hypnosis, Gus reveals a blueprint which he believes may hold answers. Mickey agrees to check it out, and the trio head off to Ventureland.

After a brief encounter with Daisy (who voices her concerns), the group sneak past Pete Pan and enter the construction site. They find a Projector Screen, which leads them to Autotopia.

"He's the leader of the club. He's the most recognized movie star in the world. Walt Disney said, "It all started with a mouse," and he was right. But it may all end with a mouse as well, because Mickey accidentally sets into motion the greatest catastrophe in the history of Wasteland. Oh, he didn't mean any harm - he never does - but that doesn't mean a thing to Oswald and the Wasteland denizens who find themselves hip deep in the Thinner Disaster. Oswald already had a mad-on for the mouse, feeling that Mickey replaced him in the hearts and minds of movie goers, but Mickey's actions take that resentment to a whole new level... and only Mickey himself can set things right!"

Morality System

When Epic Mickey was in its prototype stage, ﻿Mickey was said to change in appearance based on the choices he made. Using Paint to redeem enemies, rebuild buildings and restore other objects, as well as making good choices, would've given Mickey a bold appearance with gold gloves and shoes, known as Hero Mickey. However, using Thinner to erase characters, defeat enemies and eliminate pre-created objects, as well as making bad choices, would've given Mickey a hunched-over and thin appearance, his eyes and face twisted into an evil smile and the inhabitants' views of him would turn negative. This Mickey would be called Scrapper Mickey. Being neither good or evil would've kept his original appearance intact. Eventually, this system was scrapped in favor of his typical appearance, called Wastelander Mickey, with the only thing affected by his choices (save for the missions he goes on) are the characters who guide him--the Guardians. The more Paint Mickey uses, Tints would be attracted. The more Thinner Mickey uses, Turps would be attracted.

Hero Mickey from the prototype version.

In addition to the usage of Paint and Thinner, the NPCs will react differently to how Mickey behaves in the game. If you use Paint, the NPCs in every area will walk around the area happily and even dance in place occasionally. Using Thinner makes the NPCs walk gloomily, some with hunched backs, and will sigh from time to time. Shop owners will also give you an evil look every time you go into their stores while using Thinner, while using Paint will result in them greeting you with a joyful expression. NPCs you talk to that are story-related will act differently as well--an example being Horace Horsecollar, who will flip his hat, have ears erect and move his hands and arms around gleefully if you use Paint, while using Thinner will make him droop his ears, hang his head and hold his hat in a sorrowful manner.

Another example of Story NPC interaction is Gremlin Gus, as in how he reacts after you defeat or redeem the bosses. If you beat a boss with Paint, he'll tell you the usual explanation of Paint expansion and he'll jump and fly away as usual. Defeat a boss with Thinner and he'll tell you about the expansion of Thinner and then sigh heavily, float slowly a few feet away and then fly away.

Oswald will also react differently to Mickey. If Mickey continues to paint in his surroundings, Oswald will be cheerful in his movements. If Mickey thins everything in sight, Oswald will stand with his arms crossed, tapping his feet with a frown on his face.

Gallery

Trivia

Throughout the game, Mickey is right-handed. But in the introduction Mickey is seen painting with his left-hand.

Depending on the player's actions, the ink-like effect that Mickey got from absorbing part of the blot will either increase (by utilizing Thinner) or decrease (by using Paint).

In initial stages of development, Mickey would have fired ink at his enemies from his arms. However, this proved to be hard to animate, so it was removed and he was given the brush.

The 'firing ink out of hands' concept could be related to the concept where Oswald was the blot and he is seen with the dripping face effect like the early Thinner Mickey Concept (most likely based off the idea of Mickey absorbing some of the blot).

When Mickey did get his paintbrush, it had a different design. If you look at some of the early concept art, it had 2 bristles on both sides. One side would shoot out paint, but if Mickey wanted to use Thinner, he would flip it around and thinner would fire out of the other side. However, this concept was dropped for unknown reasons. It is most likely because the developers thought it would be more acceptable if it looked like a regular paintbrush; it was too hard to animate Mickey flipping it around quickly and/or it would be hard for Mickey to hold it properly without the brush's bristles clipping through his arm.

Despite the fact that there have been many versions of Mickey over the years, there is no forgotten version of Mickey in Wasteland. This could be because each incarnation of Mickey is too famous in their own right to be forgotten.

When the first game is completed, there is a final cutscene after the credits where Mickey and Oswald say their good-byes and Yen Sid turned the mirror back to normal. Then Yen Sid says "...And I have ensured Mickey will get into no more mischief in my workshop." and then adds, "But then again, he is Mickey Mouse." Mickey's finger then started dripping again because part of the Blot was still in Mickey and hadn't been removed.

Mickey is in his classic appearance (white face with black bead cartoon eyes, prior to the 1939 cartoon Mickey's Surprise Party) in the games; when he puts on his Sorcerer's Apprentice costume, he will take on the appearance of his modern day form.

Along with Gus, Mickey is the only one to doubt Prescott was truly the main culprit behind the events in Wasteland.

During production, the only thing that Warren Spector was not allowed to do was show Mickey's teeth. [1]